Her Red Mask

Chapter 2: Mishaps of the identity

Pulling back the curtains to her apartment, Marinette let out a big sigh. The scar on her thigh ached every time she saw Chat noir. The only reason Tikki is still with her is that Hawkmoth had disappeared from Paris.

"Chat..." she mumbled, making her way to her bed. She stumbled on it clumsily and drifted off.

Adrien woke up to the sound of birds singing. A picturesque day. He gave in to the weekend, and rocked on the porch, watching the sunlight slowly spill on the terrace. Soon enough, Plagg also awoke and began a drowsy conversation.

"Hey..?" the kwami mumbled through what energy he had left.

"Hey."

"Do you think they make camembert coffee?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Probably."

"Hah. Kiddo your sense of humour sure has improved."

"But seriously.." He looked into the Plagg's eyes intensely. "Since when did you ever wake up at 7."

"....You got me."

"What is it?"

"I feel his presence."

A moment of silence hung. It was thick, and no one said a thing, but they both knew what it entailed. This time, however, he didn't know whether Chat Noir and Ladybug were ready this time.

Marinette was at work when she got a call from a familiar number. Adrien's phone. She fumbled pressing the call button.

"Hello?" The voice over the phone was the same, maybe with a hint of worry. She'd gotten good at reading people's tone on the job.

"A- a- a..Hi..Um-" Why was she stuttering? You think by now you'd gotten over your silly crush. She took a deep inhale. Breathe, Mari, Breathe.

"Is this Marinette?" the voice asked.

"-Yes.." She finally managed to usher out.

The voice gave a sigh. "Thank god it still works. I'd have to search the yellow papers everywhere!"

She gave a weak chuckle.

"Anyways, so remember how you were good friends with Ladybug?"

The chuckle turned into a cough. She gave a grunt, affirming his question.

"Well, I was wondering whether you'd be able to ask her to meet me. And- before your asking, I don't have any ulterior motives, I swear!"

"I wasn't going to accuse you of anything."

He let out a laugh. "Sorry."

Then fell a silence. It was only when a few seconds passed when Marinette realized that Adrien was waiting for a reply. "AH- UM, SORRY, AHHH!"

"Thought you'd hung up on me."

Her cheeks began to burn like fireworks. "Sorry. And, she'll be there."

"Do you know for certain?"

"Yeah. We're better friends than you give me credit for."

The place they agreed to meet up was on the rooftop of Adrien's mansion. As she swung across the familiar landscape of Paris, she couldn't help but feel rusty. She wasn't able to swing like she used to.

Eventually, though, she had arrived, albeit with less grace than her previous years.

She looked around profusely, trying to find a familiar set of green eyes within all the darkness, but all she could see was a snarky Chat Noir, tapping his foot. He had a smile which showed his white pointy canines.

"My lady~" he purred.

"Where's Adrien?" Now it was her turn to tap her foot.

"I stole him. Threw him off the balcony."

"YOU WHAT?!" she ran towards the railings, peering below, but there wasn't a limp body. What was going on..?

"Whoa. Not actually. Why were you looking for him?" he said, sliding next to her with an unreadable expression.

Marinette paused for a moment. "He- uh- he called me- I MEAN Marinette called me saying he wanted to meet me.."

Chat gave a wide-eyed look, which sent chills down her spine. However, his face was quickly replaced with his usual grin, which was like balm over her dry skin. "You really think I sound like that lover boy, Bugaboo?"

"What do you mean?"

"I called you." His smile was even wider now.

An eyebrow on Marinette's face raised. "Then, tell me this. Why did you have his phone?"

"Ah~" He paused for a moment. "He gave it to me. We- we were..childhood friends. Yes, did I ever mention that? He's- He's in Reims for a very secret meeting. Yes." Chat pursed his lips, and looked off to a distance with a mischievous look.

There were a lot of holes in his story, but Marinette couldn't be bothered. She just wanted to take a seat to relieve the pain. "Sure.., So why did you bring me here? Another final attempt at a date?"

"No..Actually..Plagg sensed the Moth miraculous.."

They stood there, feeling the weight of his words, for a few seconds.

"Wouldn't..Wouldn't Tikki be able to sense him too?" Marinette's breathing began to fasten. Her throat swelling up. If she had to see his face again, she might just throw up.

"As you know, Tikki was severely injured in the last fight we had. That's why I wasn't able to call you through the usual means. Tikki is probably less receptive to those things since she's weakened."

"...What are we going..to do?"

Chat gave a pained sigh. "I..don't know."

They shared a few minutes of silence before Marinette bid adieu and they swung off their separate ways.

Nowadays, she seemed to be going to sleep with a heavy heart. She crawled into bed, feeling smaller than the night before. Marinette always knew Black cats were bad luck.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU USED YOUR PHONE." Plagg shook. "YOU WERE SO CLOSE THERE. SO CLOSE."

"Plagg, think on the bright side. We didn't get caught-"

"NO AGRESTE! GIVE ME YOUR INHALER! TO THE MOON AND BACK-" Plagg stormed off to another room, muttering some more words.

Adrien smiled, as he laid on his bed ready to go to sleep.

"YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE!" Was the last he heard before he turned the lights off.